steamup wrote:In my opinion, nut coal seams much less dusty than the smaller sizes such as rice and buck. There is more surface are in the smaller sizes for dust to stick to. The bigger size seems to permit the fines to work their way to the bottom of the pile faster.

I installed a garden hose next to my coal bin for a few dollars worth of plumbing supplies. I wet the coal down lightly before shovelling it or dumping it out my dump chute. Otherwise there is a dust cloud in the area because sitting inside, the coal becomes bone dry.

This was cheaper to me than buying oil.

I burn rice and do pretty much the same thing. With plumbing supplies I had laying around I installed a tap with a short hose right above the coal bin. Every day I wet the coal down....takes about a minute and keeps most of the dust down. The trick is to keep it wet after delivery. If left to dry out and you try to re-wet only the top will be damp and the coal will have to be mixed and re-watered....probably stirring up more dust. Been doing this for years without any rusting or moisture problems in stove. Virtually no cost.

Once coated I'm sure oil will do a better job than my water system but I'm cheap and like to keep things simple. I don't have any problems with excessive coal dust.